Earthfest this Saturday (4/17)

As you're making your weekend plans, please consider attending Earthfest at Pellissippi State. This Saturday, April 17 from 10am-5pm there will be food, fun, entertainment, and lots of environmental education opportunities. Best of all, it's FREE.

For the long list of exhibitors, go here. If you have the following, bring them: mercury thermometers, plastic bags or bottles, a non-fluorescent light bulb, and extra or expired medications. In exchange, you'll get a new digital thermometer, a reusable cloth bag, a compact fluorescent bulb (1 per household for the first 100 visitors) and the knowledge that what you brought will be properly recycled or disposed of. The police will actually be collecting the medications, primarily to prevent them from getting into the water supply.

If you're into biking (I used to bike to and from work in San Francisco), join the 15-20 mile ride around Hardin Valley that starts at 9am. Pre-registration is recommended; for details go here. From noon to 3pm, they'll be having a bike rodeo for kids 6 and up. Bring their helmets to check the fit; they can bring their own bikes or ride one on site. This could be a great chance to learn valuable bike safety tips.

Keep Knoxville Beautiful will be distributing 700 FREE trees; all you have to do is plant one. All of them are indigenous and grown in Tennessee. From 10am to 2pm, you can pick up a rain barrel for a bargain. Go here to pre-order one for $90; they'll be $100 at Earthfest (regularly $150). These are a great resource for re-using water for your garden.

Last year they had several booths giving away cloth bags, and Alcoa distributed large sturdy recycling bins. We'll pick up another one of those if they're available. The kids also enjoyed numerous "upcycling" crafts. I'm sure they'll have lots of good ideas. My boys are looking forward to the worms and water bugs. The Holistic Moms Network is sponsoring a diaper changing and nursing area; thanks for that service. We'll also be checking out the Green Living Tent with all sorts of ideas to green your home. They might actually have something we haven't thought of yet! Hope to see you there!